After you spit into a tube for a DNA test like 23andMe, experts say you shouldn't assume your data will stay private forever
By Erin Brodwin,
Business Insider
| 02. 16. 2019
The data you shared with a genetic testing startup like 23andMe is private — for now.
But maintaining that privacy, which rests on your data being kept anonymous and secure, is getting harder, according to privacy experts, bioethicists, and entrepreneurs.
Your DNA data contains highly sensitive information about yourhealth and identity. Everything from your ancestry to your risk of cancer to information about allergies and predisposition to Alzheimer's are often included in a genetic test report. Whether it's a political figure claiming indigenous heritage or a CEO with a genetic risk for mental illness, any one of these factors could be used against someone if they got into the wrong hands.
The most prolific genetic testing companies take thorough steps to protect your privacy, such as scraping personal identifiers like your name from your genetic code before they sell that data to researchers or drug companies. They also typically store your personal information and your genetic data in separate environments to protect against a potential hack.
But those protocols do not protect against several key vulnerabilities, experts say.
One...
Related Articles
By Mary Annette Pember, ICT News [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 04.18.2025
The sight of a room full of human cadavers can be off-putting for some, but not for Haley Omeasoo.
In fact, Omeasoo’s comfort level and lack of squeamishness convinced her to pursue studies in forensics and how DNA can be...
Gray wolf by Jessica Eirich via Unsplash
“I’m not a scarcity guy, I’m an abundance guy”
– Colossal co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm, The New Yorker, 4/14/25
Even the most casual consumers of news will have seen the run of recent headlines featuring the company Colossal Biosciences. On March 4, they announced with great fanfare the world’s first-ever woolly mice, as a first step toward creating a woolly mammoth. Then they topped that on April 7 by unveiling one...
By Katrina Northrop, The Washington Post | 04.06.2025
photo via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by 3.0
China's most infamous scientist is attempting a comeback. He Jiankui, who went to jail for three years after claiming he had created the world's first genetically altered babies, says he remains...
By Anumita Kaur [cites CGS’ Katie Hasson], The Washington Post | 03.25.2025
Genetic information company 23andMe has said that it is headed to bankruptcy court, raising questions for what happens to the DNA shared by millions of people with the company via saliva test kits.
Sunday’s announcement clears the way for a new...
